When I was in first grade, everyone made fun of my name, of course. I think it's kind of a big name to hold up when you're nine years old. It seemed goofy. I used to tell people I wanted to change the world and they used to think, 'This kid's really weird'.

In October 1986 Phoenix co-starred alongside Tuesday Weld and Geraldine Fitzgerald in the acclaimed CBS television movie Circle of Violence: A Family Drama which told the tragic story of domestic elder abuse. The film has a dedication to Phoenix after the end credits. After River's role in Dyslexia was critically acclaimed he was almost immediately cast as a major role in his next made-for-TV movie Surviving: A Family in Crisis.

For his performance in the latter Phoenix garnered enormous praise and won a Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival along with Best Actor from the National Society of Film Critics. River Jude Phoenix (August 23 1970 – October 31 1993) was an American film actor musician and activist.